Rise of a Fallen Hero
by Obsidian Fourteen
Summary: My name is Darellus Cid. Two years ago, I was a prisoner in the dungeons of the Imperial City. Now, people hail me as a hero...but I certainly don't feel like one. Let me tell you why. Reviews greatly appreciated! Chapter three uploaded!
1. Chapter 1

**Oblivion:**

**The Rise of a Fallen Hero**

The cold. That's the first thing I can recall about those wretched dungeons is the bone-chilling, mind-numbing cold that seeped all the way to the core of my very being. Then there was the smell that perpetuated in the damp cold darkness and hung thickly in the air. At first, I didn't know what it was, but as my nostrils began burning with I began piecing it together. It was a combination of mildew, moisture and rotten flesh and all around decay. Believe me, it's not the most pleasant thing to awaken to but that kind of smell will most definitely get one's attention. I can remember lying there on the floor for a while longer before my eyes would open…and then I wished they never would have. Directly in front of me was some poor soul's remains that were just kind of swept aside in the back left corner of my cell. Instinctively, I scrambled away from the skeletal pile until my back met the steel bars of the cell, which I immediately turned to inspect. It looked as though the bars were well kept if not brand new, which made comparing them to the rest of the prison laughable. The Empire sure had its priorities straight these days.

I pushed myself to my feet and took a closer look around; there was a single window about eight feet up on the wall opposite the cell door, through which bright sunlight was barely able to filter. Then, I heard a sneering voice from behind me and turned about to face the creature that began mocking me; a Dunmer. 'Big surprise' I thought to myself before proceeding to explore the rest of my cell and ignore him entirely. On the left side was a simple slab of stone with some straw, cloth and a pillow scattered on it that would constitute my 'bed'. Opposite that was a small, splintering table with a dirty stone mug sitting atop it with a pitcher to match. In front of the table was an equally splintering stool tucked away in the back corner of the cell. I blew out sigh and made my way over to the chair and sat down gingerly, trying to avoid and splinters that might have been coming my way. The Dunmer was still rambling away about some thing or another and I still paid him no mind. Instead, I tried to figure out just exactly what was going on.

My name was Darellus Antonius Cid, that much I knew. I remembered serving with a mercenary company out of Hammerfell for a while, but anything other than that was a blank. I racked my brain for answers for what seemed like an eternity trying to figure just what I had done to land myself in prison _here_ of all places, but I just couldn't remember. The Dunmer, who had thankfully fallen silent for at least a brief moment, spoke up again.

"Oh! Do you hear that, Imperial? The guards are coming. For you!"

I looked up from the table that I had been staring at absentmindedly as the Dunmer began snickering maliciously and retreated to the shadows of his cell. Curiosity got the better of me and I made my way to the cell door, watching the dimly lit stairs to the right intently. I could hear voices echoing down said staircase, but I couldn't quite make out the exact words. First down was an Imperial man, pale skinned and sour-looking. His armor was definitely not that of a Legionnaire; it was ornate, almost oriental with gold trim and lace across the chest. I recognized it fairly quickly as a Blade's armor. If the Emperor's personal guard was here, then something big was going down; I knew he couldn't have been here for me. Behind him was a Redguard who looked equally as distressed as his Imperial counterpart, but not half as ornery. He, in turn, was followed by an Imperial woman and the Emperor himself. All four approached my cell, and I quickly came to realize my presence there was not what they had expected.

"What's this _prisoner_ doing here?" the woman demanded. For some reason, I was a bit offended by the emphasis she put on the word 'prisoner'.

"Must have been a mixup with the regular watch!" her male counterpart replied, eyeing me with no hidden malice.

"Nevermind," she said, "just get this door open. You! Stand back, prisoner! We won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way!"

"Stand aside, Prisoner," interjected the Redguard, "over there by the window."

I was suddenly growing very irritated with the several looks I was getting from everyone…except the emperor. The expression he wore was that of a man that was looking at an old friend that he hadn't seen in ages. Truthfully, it looked more like confused curiosity, like he had seen me somewhere before and couldn't quite place his finger on it. I did as I was told and backed up under the window as the Imperial man unlocked the door as the Redguard told me if I stayed out of the way, I wouldn't get hurt. A small smirk spread across my face for one reason or another and I watched them all come in. Suddenly, the Emperor spoke.

"You…I've _seen_ you." Well, that was certainly a surprise.

"Me?" I replied, voice cracking. I suddenly noticed that my throat was incredibly dry. Wonderful.

"Let me see your face." I stepped over into the light a bit more to allow the Emperor a chance to study me a bit more. "You are the one from my dreams…then the stars were right. This is the day…Gods, give me strength."

The expression on the Blades' faces were priceless; they seemed to think suddenly that the Emperor was as insane as I was supposed to be and I couldn't help but smile a bit before turning my attention back to the old man that ruled the Empire. A dozen questions were circulating in my mind, but really the only words that immediately came to my tongue were the obvious ones.

"What exactly is going on, my Lord? I must admit, I'm a bit confused."

"Assassins," he began, "have attacked my sons…" My heart skipped a beat; assassins had attacked the Emperor's family? Why in the world would anyone want to do that. "…and I am next. My blades are leading me out of the city through a secret escape route. That route just happens to lead through your cell."

I simply nodded, more than a little dumbfounded, and continued speaking with the Emperor, much to the dismay of his bodyguards. He seemed like a kind old man and had a look of wisdom in his eye. I also noticed that he seemed a bit eccentric. The Blade captain, the woman, seemed to have had enough a few minutes later.

"Please, sire, we have to keep moving!" she pleaded with a slight bow. The Emperor nodded his consent and smiled kindly at me (I swear, I could hear the Imperial man snarl something nasty in my general direction), and the Blade woman searched the wall for something or another. I stood there, amused as she fumbled around on the wall until a stone sank back into it. Much to my amazement, the 'bed' sank away under the floor and a large segment of the wall swung open, revealing a dank corridor that smelled strongly of mold. "Better not close this one," said the Blade woman as she peered inside, watching for any signs of trouble, "there's no way to open it from the other side."

I shot a cocky grin over at the Imperial man and he snarled at me ferociously before falling in stride with the Emperor. I walked along side the much friendlier Redguard and decided to drum up some small talk. I asked him his name; he said it was Baurus, and his much grumpier friends. The woman's name was Renault and the man was Glenroy. As we walked, the severity of the situation finally dawned on me; the _Emperor_ and his sons were being picked off one-by-one, and here I was having a friendly conversation with one of Emperor Uriel Septim the Third's personal bodyguards. I shook my head and blew out a frustrated sigh; maybe things weren't going to turn out so well after all. If assassins attacked the Emperor now, I'd be more of a hindrance to the Blades than a help. After all, I had nothing on me but a sack cloth shirt, sack cloth pants, some ratty looking shoes and shackles, which Baurus was kind enough to remove. Before I could thank him, Captain Renault sounded the alarm.

"Form up left; protect the Emperor!"

Swords were immediately drawn and the sounds of battle erupted in the cavernous room that we had entered. It was large, probably twenty feet wide and fifteen or twenty feet tall, and the assassins were certainly using every bit of that to attack from. Captain Renault charged down the stairs in front of us and I leapt next to the Emperor, prepared to use my body as a fleshy shield for the Emperor. One assassin had apparently sneaked around the Blades and started toward me; an unarmed, unarmored bodyguard was next to useless, and the assassin knew it. I could see his grip tighten around the heavy looking mace he held and slowly stalked closer to me. His soulless black armor glinted in the strange, aqua light that shone from the walls and the hideous facemask glinted evilly. I found myself wishing desperately for a weapon, and the Gods seemed to answer my prayer. I dove away from a sideswipe that was intended to remove my head and hit the stone floor hard, palm open and suddenly felt something hit my hand.

I didn't care what it was at the moment and lunged at the assassin, tackling him to the ground. The object I'd caught, which I now realized was the hilt of a sword, came down hard on his face, cracking the mask he wore. He pushed me off of him with a strength beyond any I'd ever witness and sprung to his feet, mace once again at the ready. He charged me, mace held high above his head. I scrambled to raise my blade and closed my eyes, arms extended in front of me. Suddenly, I felt something jerk and then a warm, gooey substance on my fingers and running my arms. Immediately, I knew it was blood and opened my eyes. Apparently, the assassin had impaled himself upon my blade and the essence of his life was slowly oozing down the blade of my sword and onto my hands and forearms. Disgusted, I shifted to the side and yanked the blade free. The corpse thereby had no support and collapsed to the ground with a wet thump. I groaned and pushed myself to my feet slowly, swearing up and down that I would _never_ fight without armor ever again.

When I turned about, I came find that the Emperor, Glenroy and Baurus had already gone ahead and locked the door behind them; I guess they thought I was dead. The next few minutes were spent searching the room for any way out, but I couldn't find any; the walls all looked pretty solid. Frustrated and sore, I sat down with a huff and resigned myself to my fate or someone to find me, whichever came first. To pass the time, I took a look at the sword that had magically appeared in my hand; the blade was long and elegantly curved with several characters that I was unfamiliar with etched into it. I wiped the blood off with my shirt, which was then dumped on the floor, and took a closer look at the hilt. Unlike the blade itself, the hilt looked old and frayed, but still fairly familiar. It took me another moment or two to realize that the thread used to decorate the hilt was the same thread found on Blades' armor and shot to my feet to have a closer look around the room. I had assumed that all three of the Blades had left with the Emperor, but there was no way any of them would leave without their swords. After a few minutes searching, I found Captain Renault crumpled in a dark corner, the entire right breast of her armor caved in. Her face was twisted in a horribly pained expression and her eyes stared blankly into space. A wave of sadness washed over me and I closed the warrior's eyes and whispered a prayer to the Nine, asking them to take care of this woman who had died so valiantly to protect the Empire. She at least deserved that much.

Before I could ponder the situation any further, a strange sound from the base of the stairs caught my attention. Blade at the ready, I made my way down and stopped, listening for any more sounds. It came again from behind some loose stones in the wall to my right, and I approached slowly. Suddenly, the stones exploded outward, followed by what was quite possibly the largest rat I had ever seen in my entire life. The creature smacked right into my chest, sending my stumbling backward gasping for breath. It was startled so greatly that it lunged at me again, leaving me no choice but to strike the poor thing down with one clean strike of my sword that effectively removed the head from the rest of the body. Panting for air, I slowly peered into the hole the R.O.U.S. (Rodent Of Unusual Size) had created in the wall and grinned; I had found a way out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Crazy Young Fool: This is an experiment to work on the description and detail since the world of Oblivion is so incredibly vivid. I'm glad I've caught your attention, though!**

**Laurelin: I'm going to try and update as often as I can, so keep an eye open.**

**Beetleman56: Thank you! I hope you'll pass the word along to your friends; the more reviews I get, the more inspiration I get.**

**Allshallfade: Thank you, thank you! I tried to make this as entertaining as possible for that particular reason. I look forward to reading more about Addy.**

**Chapter Two**

At last, I had finally managed to work my way out of those damned contemptible caves. They were _infested_ with Goblins and all sorts of other nasty creatures with an appetite for human flesh and a thirst for blood. However, I did manage to come away with an iron helm, leather boots, iron cuirass and a couple of rusty looking blades. I'd also managed to find a shield, a bow and some arrows so the trip and fights were not all a total waste of time. I had emerged from the network of dark, dank, goblin infested tunnels through a hole in the cave wall; I had spotted the faint, iridescent blue-green light filtering through the thick dust hanging in the air, swirling about in the cold breeze that gently flowed through. On the other side were the Ayleid ruins again that extended out to my right for a few feet before branching off to the left with another path continuing straightforward a few more feet into a wall. The white marble reflected the pale teal-ish light, casting a strange glow of the same color all over my little cubby. Three pillars extended on the left branch of my path and intersected at a ninety degree angle with the other three pillars that kept going straight ahead of me. The rest of a fairly small room lay before me, about six feet below; someone could easily jump up and grab the edge of the path I had emerged onto. There were two floors to this room if one took in the two upper-ledges, all supported by four rather thick looking pillars.

Just as I began to leap down, I heard voices echoing from a hall hidden from my view and scrambled back up the wall, sword drawn and at the ready. Now I could see the orange-red glow of torchlight reflecting off the walls and floor and vaguely recognized the baritone voice that was speaking as Baurus' and blew out a breath that I had not realized I'd been holding. However, the ongoing conversation between him and Glenroy was less than comforting. The Imperial Blade had apparently lost all hope in any sort of help coming and was practically yelling at Baurus to clarify his thoughts, and Baurus had not heeded a single word his Imperial counterpart had said (or, more accurately, spat) to him. I decided to wait a moment or two to allow things to cool down a bit because I was sure that in his current state of mind, Glenroy would kill first and ask questions never, especially if I came leaping out of the shadows like the assassins had done thus far. I decided to follow along parallel to the small band, trying to watch out for any danger until I hit the wall and took a glance directly forward of me; there was another path just across the room. Even in the darkness, I could still vaguely make out a human shape standing, or more accurately, crouching in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to strike. That was an opportunity I was going to make sure he didn't get.

I reached onto my back to retrieve my bow as quietly as I could, making sure not to bang the splintering wooden weapon against my armor or the wall or the floor and then extracted an arrow from its quiver. My hands trembling, I notched the arrow on the bowstring and slowly tensioned the bowstring. I winced as the old string creaked and complained from the strain and aimed, thankful for the heaviness of the Blades' armor clanking with every step they took. The assassin appeared to be standing now, so I aimed for where his heart ought to have been and released the arrow, which screamed through the air with a whistle and made contact with the assassin's chest with a loud 'thwap'. He staggered a couple steps and fell forward from his hiding place and down the seven or eight feet to the floor and landed with a resounding clank. The Blades drew their weapons and leapt in front of the Emperor just in time; three more assassins leapt down from other places and began a mighty battle with the Blades. I replaced the bow across my back, drew my sword and snatched up the shield I had found earlier in the caves and leapt down, charging headlong into the fight.

One assassin, much shorter than the others, met me in my charge and hefted the mace he held over his shoulder and swung it in a wide arc. I blocked the mace with my shield, but wasn't ready for just how heavy it was and lost my balance momentarily. The assassin took advantage of my stumble and attacked again, this time straight downward at me. Ready for the weight of the weapon, I bent my knees slightly and raised my shield over my head, wincing when the mace struck the top of it. As I expected, my knees absorbed most of the impact and I rushed forward, heart pounding in my chest. I braced my body and slammed my shield into the assassin's chest to knock him off-balance and brought my sword down diagonally across his chest, using the momentum I had built to my advantage. However, the plan of attack could have been better because the blade just scraped the assassin's armor with a horrible screeching sound and left me, for the second time, off-balance. I recovered quickly, faster than the assassin, and attacked again aiming for the neck this time. In one swift arc, his head was cleaved from his shoulders, leaving the body to collapse in a pool of crimson blood that was spurting from the neck. My entire body was shaking from the sheer amount of adrenaline, but I knew now was not the time nor the place to become unwary. I spun about, shield and sword at the ready and awaited the next attacker. None came; Baurus and Glenroy had already struck them down. Unrelenting joy overcame me and a smile spread across my face as they approached, but faded rather quickly. Glenroy looked less than please.

"Damn it! It's that _prisoner_ again!" he shouted. Again, I was annoyed with the emphasis on the word _prisoner_. I had just saved the Emperor's life, for the love of the Nine!

"Kill him! He could be working for the enemy!"

Glenroy approached with murder clearly on his mind. I hefted the iron shield heavily and held my ground, glancing between the two Blades and mentally pleading to the Nine for some sort of aid. My heart was thundering in my ears and fear gripped at every nerve in my body. I didn't want to kill my own people, especially one of the Emperor's personal bodyguards, but if it came down to it…well, I'm not _that_ noble. Before any blood could be shed, however, the Emperor's voice rang clearly in the still air of the room, tired but powerful.

"No, he is not with them. He will help us; he _must_ help us."

Half a dozen eyes shifted to the old man, each as full of curiosity as the other. Glenroy looked as if he were about to protest, but a stern look from Emperor Septim kept the Blade quiet. I was again amazed by the Emperor; assassins had killed his sons, the Empire was being attacked, _he_ was being hunted by a mob of ruthless assassins, and here he was smiling like absolutely nothing was wrong! In my amazement, I didn't notice Glenroy stepping aside as the Emperor approached and placed a gentle, gnarled hand on my shoulder. His eyes immediately caught my attention again; they seemed like an old tiger's eyes ready to accept the hand that fate had dealt him. I immediately understood as the Emperor leaned closer and spoke in a whisper.

"They cannot see why I trust you." Emperor Septim whispered, casting a sideways glance at Glenroy, who was scowling to the best of his ability, "They have not seen what I have seen."

"My Lord," I replied slowly, "I do not mean to pry, but…what exactly have you seen?"

The old Emperor sighed softly and glanced upward toward the heavens, trying to figure out some way to explain himself to me. I almost wanted to laugh at the way the sentence had formulated in my head; explain himself to _me_. I could see the Blades fidgeting and generally looking uncomfortable out of the corner of my eye and had to stop myself telling them to relax. It's not like that would do much good at the moment, anyway. My gaze turned back to the Emperor who seemed to have collected his thoughts and spoke again.

"You know of The Nine? How they guide our fates with an invisible hand?"

I nodded. The Emperor smiled.

"I have served the Nine all of my days, and I chart my course by the cycle of the heavens." The look in the Emperor's eye took on a burning conviction as he spoke, glancing upward toward the heavens every now and then. "The skies are marked with numberless sparks, each a fire, and every one a sign. I know these stars well and I wonder," There was a short pause before the Emperor continued, "which sign marked your birth?"

I admit, the Emperor's question caught me off-guard. Since I was unprepared to answer such a question, I racked my brain for an answer and tried to remember just exactly what sign I had been born under. For the second time, I realized just how little I knew about myself and my past because most of it was still a big blank spot with some blurs and snapshots in between. I know I must have looked stupid to the old man, but he said nothing and merely watched with a vague expression of amusement. Another moment passed by before I finally remembered the sign that marked the day of my arrival to Tamriel.

"The Warrior." I replied, curious as to the relevance of such a question and as to why he was so interested in me.

"Truly?" he asked in a whisper so low that even I could barely hear to reply. I nodded slowly. The next few minutes were spent in a hushed discussion with the Emperor, and the details of that conversation I can't recall exactly. What I _do_ remember is the Emperor's composure; there was not so much as a _hint_ of fear in his voice as he spoke of his own death, or the threat to the Empire. I admit, his confidence in me and my abilities was flattering, but would I actually decide the fate of the Empire and all of Tamriel? I suddenly felt the weight of the world resting on my shoulders, and that was a weight I was not comfortable bearing on my own. At the constant urging of his Blades, the Emperor spoke his final sentence in that chamber.

"I go to my grave. A tongue shriller than all the music calls me." He smiled. "You may shall follow me for a while yet for a while, then we must part."

The Emperor patted my shoulder comfortingly and turned to Glenroy, who began down the next path. That was possibly the strangest conversation I can ever remember having with possibly the craziest living being that had ever walked the ground of Tamriel. I was confused and dumbstruck beyond all possible reason, trying to wrap the facts Emperor Septim had lad out for me around my head. Why had the gods chosen _me_, of all people? How was _I_ supposed to save Tamriel from whatever threat looming in the darkness? What was I supposed to do? It took me a moment to gather my wits and fall in-step alongside Baurus once again. If it wasn't for my helmet, I'd have probably been scratching my head, too. The Redguard smiled sardonically and patted me on the back.

"If the Emperor trusts you, that's good enough for me. They say there's something in the Septim blood that lets them see more than normal men. You might as well make yourself useful and carry a torch; who knows what could be waiting for us."

I agreed and took the torch he offered me and we both jogged forward to catch up with the Emperor and Glenroy. There was so much electricity in the air that the hair on the back of my neck stood on end; we were all ready for the attacks that came steadily in every room we passed through. Whoever these assassins were, they seemed to have an in in-depth knowledge of the supposedly "secret" escape route as they seemed to flood out of every nook and cranny. That was a fact that I made common knowledge among our merry little band. That put Glenroy in an even worse mood than he had been before hand, something that I thought nigh impossible. Three rooms, three waves of assassins and I thought the trend was sure to continue until we came to the fourth. I swear you could have heard a _pin_ drop in there. Glenroy stopped our little column at the top of a flight of stairs.

"Hold up; I don't like this. Let me take a look."

The Emperor and Baurus nodded and I took Glenroy's place in front of the Emperor. He slowly descended the stairs to the elevated platform at the bottom, sword drawn and at the ready, and looked about. After a few tense moments of expecting an attack, his posture visibly relaxed and he waved for us to come forward. "Looks like it's all clear. Come on; we're almost through to the sewers."

I descended the stairs in front of the Emperor, still more than a little wary, and watched as Glenroy stepped down off of the platform and made his way over to a copper gate. A resounding clang echoed in the chamber as he punched it out of sheer frustration. "Damn it!" he seethed, "It's barred from the other side! A trap!"

Baurus, the calmer of the two, spoke next. "What about that side passage over there?"

"Worth a try," replied his comrade, "let's go!"

All four of us proceeded through the open gate into the side passage, only to find out that it, too, was a trap; they'd funneled us all the way here. I was angry and stayed close to the Emperor, ready to strike down any stupid bastard dumb enough to try and strike him down. The clanking of armor drew my attention back toward the room we had just come from; the enemy were coming. Baurus and Glenroy locked looks and nodded. They knew what was about to happen. "Stay with the Emperor," Baurus said as they went to their doom, "guard him with your life!" No sooner than they had cleared the doorway, the assassins were upon the two Blades. I held my sword in a white knuckle grip and resisted the temptation to rush out and help the Blades in their desperate fight. Before the temptation could get the better of me, a hand on my shoulder whirled me about and an amulet was slapped in my hand.

"I can go no further." Said the Emperor in an almost frantic tone. "You alone must stop the Prince of Destruction. He must not have the Amulet of Kings! Take the Amulet," he commanded, forcing my fingers around the thing, "give it to Jauffre at Weynon Priory. He alone knows where to find my last son. Find him and close shut the jaws of Oblivion!"

Before another word had been spoken, the wall behind the Emperor began to shift and slide away. Everything went in slow motion after that; first, a booted foot appeared, followed by the rest of the assassin's body. He leapt down from his perch, dagger ready and gleaming, and jammed it into the Emperor's back. Uriel's eyes widened in shock and pain as the dagger found its home. He fell away slowly, blood spurting from the wound and tainting the royal purple robe a dark crimson color, his murderer cackling maniacally chanting "He's dead! He's dead! The Empire will fall!" I could feel my heart thundering in my chest now, beating against my rib cage as my blood boiled in sheer rage. I'm not sure exactly what happened after that, but I guess I screamed; the Emperor's murderer looked at me and suddenly seemed very afraid…and he should have been. The sword in my hand suddenly felt considerably lighter as I hefted it over my head and cursed the assassin just before the blade made contact with the meat of his neck and cut through as if I were wielding a knife against bread. Warm blood splattered across my face as the head fell free from its former body and I gasped for breath, the animalistic rage dying down. I came to my senses and immediately checked for any signs of life from the Emperor. There were none.

The Emperor was dead.


	3. Chapter 3

**Allshallfade: That part was difficult to write. You wouldn't believe how many times I had to play that beginning sequence to get what I got. I finally said, "Eh, screw it" and went with the "I forgot what he said" thing. In other words, I took the lazy writer's way out.**

**Chapter Three**

The Emperor was dead. I could hardly force myself to believe that, even though the body was lying there before me oozing the very essence of life, tainting the once pure violet robe and changing it to an angry crimson. His eyes were distant and dilated, staring up at the ceiling as a thin white film covered them over. The subtle clanking of Baurus' armor snapped me out of my daze and finally allowed my to pull my eyes away from the Emperor and observe the battle scene in the room adjacent to the ambush. Dozens of assassins lay dead, some in heaps, splayed about in a random fashion. I suddenly realized that Glenroy hadn't screamed seething insults or accusations at me and frantically began to search for the other Blade. For the first few minutes, the search was fruitless; the bodies were piled on top of each other ten deep in some places and two or three in another. Then, I found him propped up against a wall, staring into nothing. A half-dozen assassins lay dead around him, lying in pools of their own life-essence. Glenroy's armor was in terrible condition, covered in scrapes, scratches, dents and scars, but the worst was larger than my head and dead in the center of his chest. I grimaced at the mere thought of what kind of hell that must have been, but that was only the beginning. His arm was bent at a totally unnatural angle, obviously broken.

Unable to bear the sight any longer, I pried Glenroy's blade from his cold, gauntleted handed and muttered a silent prayer before standing up and approaching Baurus, who was knelt over the Emperor's body, his own shuddering violently with his sorrow. "We've failed…" I heard him choke through his tears, "_I've_ failed." I sighed and knelt next to the young-looking Redguard and clasped a heavy hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure the man that he had done his best and lay his comrades' swords at his feet. His psyche and will seemed to have been broken…the last thing I wanted was for him to do anything rash. After another moment or two, Baurus regained his composure and swept the Emperor's body one more time, jumping to his feet suddenly.

"It's gone! The Amulet of Kings is gone!" he shouted.

"Baurus, it's all right! Look, I've got it right here," I said, holding the jewel up to him, "and the Emperor wanted me to take it to…what was his name…Jauffre?"

Baurus suddenly calmed considerably, judging from the expression on his face…which almost became a grin. He nodded and fished around his person for a moment before offering a small, rusty looking key to me.

"Brother Jauffre is the Grand Master of my Order, The Blades. I don't know what the Emperor saw in you, but if he trusted you, then so do I. Once you get out of the sewers, go west toward Chorrol. You'll find Weynon Priory and Jauffre just outside the city walls."

I nodded and started for the secret passage the assassin had come through, but paused and asked Baurus one more thing.

"What about you?"

He smiled almost sardonically and cast another glance down at the Emperor.

"I'm going to stay here and guard the Emperor's body. Help will arrive soon, so don't worry about me. Hurry up and get going."

I nodded and slowly clambered into the dark passage, drawing the steel shortsword I'd recovered from an assassin at the very beginning, and slowly crept forward. No one seemed to be about, so I stood straight up and strode onward, searching for my exit. It lay behind an old, ill-used, cobweb covered, splintering door with a handle that felt like it would crumble to dust if one gripped it too tightly. The hinges were rusted so badly I literally had to kick the door in, an action that was made all the more difficult by the fact that the wood was as rotted as the iron was rusted! That on top of the fact that the locking mechanism was in such abhorrent condition that the key given to me was one-hundred percent useless frustrated me beyond all reason. After several frustrating minutes and cries of "Gods damn it!", the door finally creaked open and I was able to get inside. My exit, my grand escape from the dungeons was going to be through a covered hole in the ground. To make matters even _more_ entertaining, the cover to the sewer entrance looked as though _it_ was rusted too. I groaned at the Nines' cruelty and worked my way behind the cover, which forced me to lean across to the handle that would open it. I jerked upward as hard as I could, but it turned out that the cover was not rusted at all; as a matter of fact, it was quite well-kept and I would up stumbling backward, tripping over a loose plank from a broken crate and falling flat on my arse with a resounding crash.

I was glad no one was around, but still fairly sure that Baurus easily heard the great crash. With a huff, I started clambered down into the sewers and didn't bother to close the entrance behind me; who was going to follow? The trip down into the darkness was short (there were only six or eight rungs to the ladder that led down) and I was soon enveloped by the black that hung in the air. In fact, it was so dark I hard to use the torch that Baurus had given me earlier just to see three feet in front of me. The journey through the sewers was slow; I climbed down a staircase that was off to my left and through an archway that led to a waterline with two bridges arching over it. Half-way across, I was attacked by another rat, dealt with that easily, and a pair of goblins, equally easy to deal with. Two more rooms, another staircase and two gates later, I was out and breathing the fresh air of Cyrodiil. I took a moment and just breathed in the sweet, fresh air that tasted of rain. The grass was still slightly damp and the air was cool as the sun slowly crept over the horizon. Before me was an old dock whose white paint was slowly peeling off and wood was splintering and falling apart. I could see what looked like Ayeleid ruins on the opposite shore, just over the bank and began to formulate a plan. I could recall that such ruins were often hotspots and basecamps for bandits and brigands, and that meant supplies. I would need those supplies, and possibly a horse if I could find one, to make the three day trip to Weynon Priory. That was, of course, assuming nothing went wrong.

I extinguished the torch and stored it on my waist, then made a running leap off the pier and swam as fast as I could across the lake; it was infamous for it's slaughterfish population that were, in turn, infamous for their tenacity. The sandy shore on the other side was welcome as I all but sprinted out of the water and onto the grassy gnoll that gave me a fairly good view of the ruins. The name suited the exterior perfectly; broken walls, shattered columns, toppled pillars…this place had it all, _including_ a bandit camp. I couldn't help but smile at my luck and drew my shortsword as quietly as I could; the entrance to the ruins was being guarded by a Khajiit and a Dunmner, both women…but neither looked very well armed or armored. Fur didn't exactly fare very well against blades, and theirs weren't in very good shape…but the Dunmer could have been a problem; she was armed with a bow. The Khajiit wouldn't be much of a problem; sure, the cat-people were quick, but they weren't exactly known for their fortitude. The Dunmer woman would be if I didn't take her out quickly, so she took my priority. The hill behind the ruins may have given me a good viewpoint, but I decided against that idea; the sunlight would be behind me and I create a silhouette against the skyline.

Well, there was no way I was escaping the fight if I wanted supplies, so I stayed as low as I could and slipped forward, darting from broken column to broken column. As I peered around the third column, I saw the Khajiit stiffen and stand from her place beside the Dunmer, drawing her blade in the process. She must've heard me somehow. I restrained myself from cursing to try and keep from alerting the feline even more as she approached cautiously. Her ears twitched, trying to pick up anything out of place and I held my breath, tightening my grip on the shield and sword I held. I mentally cursed the Khajiit for not just giving up and just sitting back down, but she just stood there! My patience slowly began to ebb away and my rage built along with my need to breathe. Things just kept getting worse; the Khajiit kept getting closer and my lungs began to hurt more and more with each passing second. I had to breathe. I let my breath out with a rasping gasp that seemed to surprise the Khajiit and leapt out from behind the column, ramming the shortsword through her chest and yanking it back out before she even had a chance to cry out in pain. I felt warm blood splatter on my face, but I didn't care; the Dunmer was on her feet and reaching for her bow. Before the Khajiit hit the ground, I was sprinting at the Dark Elf, holding my blade parallel to the ground with most of my body concealed behind the shield.

The Dunmer now had the bow grasped in her fingers and snatched an arrow out of the quiver with a speed rarely seen and whirled about, arrow notched and bowstring stretched taught. She released the arrow and I ducked my head behind the shield, wincing as it struck with a dull 'wathunk'. I could hear the Dunmer ready another arrow and was determined not to let that happen. Another two steps and I was upon her, ramming the blade into her gut. I heard her cry out in pain and drop the bow and arrow, clenching at her stomach as I removed my blade. She fell to her knees and began to cry; the pain must have been torrential. After a moment, I sheathed my sword and lowered my shield to get a look at the Dunmer that had fought me. To my surprise, she looked very young…barely twenty, if I had to bet. I also noticed she was crying now, looking between me and the wound I had inflicted. Her eyes pleaded to me for help, and my heart shattered. I couldn't deny that cry. My hands moved like lightening, snatching a vial of the healing potion I had found earlier in the caves and knelt next to her as I uncorked the vial, emptying its contents into her mouth. She swallowed with some difficulty and the potion began to do its work; the blood ebbing from her stomach began to slow and eventually ceased. The pain disappeared from her eyes and the tears stopped coming.

"Why…why…did you help me?" she asked, confused. I sighed.

"It's not in my nature to let kids die, not like that."

"So…you're not going to kill me?" she asked again.

"No. Well, not as long as that goes both ways. Now, I've helped you, so you're going to help me. Okay?"

She nodded.

"How many more bandits are down inside the ruins?"

"I'm not sure, exactly; the boss wouldn't let me or that bitch Saania over there inside." She seethed, referring to the Khajiit I had just slain. "But I _can_ tell you that there are at least a half dozen. Maybe more."

I nodded and stood, thanking the Dunmer and heading for the entrance. Just before I pushed open the heavy stone doors, she called out to me. She said she wanted them dead. All of them. I didn't know why and I really didn't care; I figured it had to have been some sort of grudge she held for one reason or another. Possibly, the ringleader didn't see her value or the others mistreated her in some way. I simply shrugged it off and pushed open the heavy stone doors and descended down into the gloomy dark of the Ayeleid ruins. Stairs descended downward to a curved rampart, which ended just outside my line of sight. To the left was another side passage that didn't seem to lead anywhere except from one end of the rampart to the other. I could barely make out a large human shape that seemed to be patrolling said side passage and slunk down the steps as quietly as I could, sword out and at the ready. My foe stepped out onto the rampart at the foot of the steps and into the eerie green glow the walls gave off. He was a Redguard, and a big one at that. He was better armed than the Khajiit or Dunmer and better armored, too; this one wore a mismatched jumble of steel and iron that just looked too small for him. He held a large, heavy looking steel claymore in his hands and was glancing around like a paranoid skooma addict looking for Dark Brotherhood assassins. I grinned and catapulted myself off the steps out of the darkness, startling the Redguard. He barely had time to gasp before my blade pierced his throat right below his Adam's apple and through his spine, effectively eliminating any possibility of a scream. Life quickly left his body, which suddenly became quite heavy and required the use of both arms to keep him from tumbling off the rampart. I slowly lowered the body down and removed the armor that I would need; steel cuirass and greaves.

I quickly exchanged my leather and armor for the steel and rifled through his goods; he had a steel longsword on him as well as several arrows. Gold and another healing potion was another bonus and a found myself feeling much better than I was when I'd first come in. One down, five or more to go and, while I didn't particularly enjoy killing, the knowledge that people traveling the roads of Cyrodiil would be a bit safer with these bandits dead was more than enough satisfaction to me. I had a sneaking suspicion that the next few hours were going to be fairly interesting.


End file.
